The well-known gaming and social platform Roblox announced that it will officially shut down its video calling service Roblox Connect launched in 2023. The platform stated that currently, the vast majority of user groups aged 13 and above prefer to use the platform’s Party Voice chat (Party Voice) function when making private calls.
Roblox Connect once allowed users to video chat with others using their own Roblox avatars, which were able to sync in real time and mimic the users' real-life movements. In addition, users participating in the call can explore and interact together in a shared virtual environment. However, with the development of platform functions and changes in player habits, the service came to an end.
Roblox spokesperson Angela Allison confirmed in an interview with the media: "Roblox Connect has been officially offline today. The scope of deactivation includes related APIs for developers and the Roblox Connect function itself. We have observed that users aged 13 and above now mainly use our newly launched 'Party Voice' feature to conduct private voice calls with trusted friends on the platform."
In fact, in the announcement that the related API would be closed about a month ago, a Roblox employee made it clear that "Party Voice" is more powerful in handling private voice chats and is more in line with the daily habits of today's players using Roblox. According to platform regulations, in order to use the "Party Voice" function normally, users must first pass Roblox's official age verification to ensure that they are 13 years old or above.
It is worth mentioning that when Roblox Connect was initially released, Roblox officials expressed their intention to open source this feature, but there is currently no public information to confirm whether the open source plan has actually been implemented. At present, relevant media have made further inquiries to Roblox about this detail.